V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 ... to the bestest Linux help forum out there. :yes:Hey folks, Chip's not new to Linux, but he hasn't messed with it in years. He's a computer support wienee, long time biker, and a pal o' mine. Be gentle. He just installed PCLOS on his laptop a few nights ago. ;)Chipper, be sure to look into the Bruno's Classroom area when you get a chance. There are lots of great links, tutorials, and other goodies in there to assist you on your new Linux Adventure. :)Later...~EricOh, and watch out for that Urmas guy. Er, uh... wait. You already know about him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Welcome to the forums Chip!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Welcome Chip!!! Great to see you here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Welcome Chip. The folks here will get you sorted out. No question is too basic and you never get called to task for asking questions that other sites expect you to know. Let the fun begin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipDoc Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Thanks for the welcome, everyone! Though setting up a Linux connection via ethernet or WiFi would have been easy, I live out in the woods and have never had access to either. My connection is dependent on a Verizon Pantech UM150 AirCard and Verizon provides no support whatsoever for Linux. Without connectivity, the box is almost worse than useless, since it's a time-waster without even the pretense of being able to accomplish work... So I stuck with Windows, becoming quite adept at 95, 98, XP. and Vista. It's what I was doing for a living, after all. But now I'm looking at starting a new job with Neilsen (the TV ratings people) where Linux is the system everything runs on. It wasn't a requirement, but it seemed like a good idea to get back into it. And since I'd heard rumors (and actually seen a tutorial from Urmas) on how to do this, I leapt right in.After a couple of initial idiocies, the pclos install went remarkably smoothly. Setting up the internet connection was a bit more difficult, but with help from Urmas, Eric, Frank, and Josh it was up and running by the end of the evening. The amazing part is that the AirCard connection actually runs FASTER under Linux. I had assumed it was an illusion created by the fact that the system was running faster, but it's actually giving me a download speed of better than 2 mbps!I've already been converted. I've got to keep Vista on this machine because I'm not the only one using this machine, but I hardly ever go back there anymore - though it's only been two days so the shine might come off the penny after a while. At any rate, it's great to be here. Thanks again for the welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolanaj Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Welcome ChipDoc! There are some great people here who like to help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 Don't worry, Chip. Just because we're pro-Linux doesn't mean we're anti-Windows. Most of us here have a Windows installation on a partition somewhere on our systems. It doesn't get booted too often, but it's there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amenditman Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Don't worry, Chip. Just because we're pro-Linux doesn't mean we're anti-Windows. Most of us here have a Windows installation on a partition somewhere on our systems. It doesn't get booted too often, but it's there. Guilty, XP, Vista, and 7. Home and Pro/Business versions of each.Not on a partition, but at least on VirtualBox.Welcome ChipDoc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlangdn Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Welcome Chip!I too have Windows on my two machines - one XP, the other Vista. Windows does pay the bar bill when cleaning up messes that others get into. Long Live MS!My main machine is Slackware64-current. I'm a glutton for punishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Speak for yourself Eric, I personally despise Windows. But I do have a Win7-Ultimate partition for gaming on my main rig, with the network disabled of course. Then again it is best to use whatever tool is the most efficient one for the task at hand. For me, this just happens to be Linux. That said, I am glad you got PCLinuxOS up and running perfectly now on your machine. If you have issues or just want to rant about how much you like Linux, feel free to post. We enjoy helping others around here.Glad to have you as a new member Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipDoc Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 I am glad you got PCLinuxOS up and running perfectly now on your machine. If you have issues or just want to rant about how much you like Linux, feel free to post. We enjoy helping others around here.Oh I don't know that I'd go so far as to say it's working "perfectly" at this point. I'm still trying to figure out how to add direct links to things like Chrome to the bottom panel and to make KPPP auto-connect on boot, but it's coming right along and at this point is pretty much exactly as functional as Vista. I'm really having a great deal of fun!And thanks again for the welcome. It's good to have friends who know a lot more about this sort of thing than I do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Are you running the KDE version of PCLinuxOS or the Gnome version?Nevermind, I see your running kppp which is a KDE app. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 With KDE there are two ways to accomplish this:The easiest way is to open the menu and drag the icon and drop it on the panel. The other way is to switch to the kickoff menu style (right click the menu button and select kickoff), then right click any app in the menu and choose "Add to panel" You can then move the icon on the panel after it's added and put it where you like.As far as auto connecting with Kppp, on the last window where you click connec there should be a box that says "autoconnect" ore something like that. Check that box and it should start at boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 ChipDoc... hmmmm... rings a bell... hmmmm... About adding items to your [bottom] panels: if the two methods described by Josh above don't work, you may have to do a wee trick first: RIGHT click on the panel, choose "Unlock Widgets".Oh and welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
striker Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Welcome ChipDoc! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipDoc Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 (edited) The easiest way is to open the menu and drag the icon and drop it on the panel.This seemed obvious, but I couldn't find the icons. I'm just not familiar enough with the file structure to know where these things live. Which, of course, brings up a question - where the heck do Linux programs reside, anyhow? They're certainly not in the Program Files folder... The other way is to switch to the kickoff menu style (right click the menu button and select kickoff), then right click any app in the menu and choose "Add to panel" You can then move the icon on the panel after it's added and put it where you like.This worked like a charm - Thanks!As far as auto connecting with Kppp, on the last window where you click connec there should be a box that says "autoconnect" ore something like that. Check that box and it should start at boot.I've been looking for something like that, but simply can't find it. On boot, I get the window with the login info and the Connect button, but nothing about autoconnect there. Nothing in the Configure windows either. It's probably in some staggeringly obvious place... Edited October 2, 2010 by ChipDoc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueD Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Hi Chip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipDoc Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Hi Sue! It sure is amazing how many good resources and great friends are here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Which, of course, brings up a question - where the heck do Linux programs reside, anyhow? http://raviratlami1.blogspot.com/2007/01/h...r-of-linux.htmlhttp://www.linuxconfig.org/Filesystem_BasicsOn boot, I get the window with the login info and the Connect button, but nothing about autoconnect there. Nothing in the Configure windows either. It's probably in some staggeringly obvious place...Or... maybe not. Looks like there is no "autoconnect" option in KPPP. But you could create a start menu/desktop/panel item for this... the command is:kppp -c verizon (... assuming you have named the connection "verizon" in Kppp. Note that if there are spaces in the connection name then the connection name will need to be put in quotes.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Also, guilty as charged as well.Mac OS X Leopard on PPC Mac, Windows XP in real mode on laptop as well as Debian Lenny (dual-boot), and Windows XP Pro and Windows 7 in VirtualBox on Debian Lenny computer, and Win2K in realmode (dualboot) but haven't been there in a year.Computers are fun! I love all my OSes but Linux is my favorite for so many reasons... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipDoc Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Or... maybe not. Looks like there is no "autoconnect" option in KPPP. But you could create a start menu/desktop/panel item for this... the command is:kppp -c verizon (... assuming you have named the connection "verizon" in Kppp. Note that if there are spaces in the connection name then the connection name will need to be put in quotes.) The command worked like a charm once I capitalized Verizon, but I still can't figure out how to create the menu/desktop/panel item. Adding widgets is easy, but I can only choose from the available ones. How do I create my own?Oh, and thanks for the links. Filesystem Basics is now saved in my Daily links! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipDoc Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 OK, though I'm still unable to discover where the programs reside, or figure out how to create an object, I did discover a way of using QuickLaunch to accomplish what I was attempting. If I create a launch point in QuickLaunch, I can drag that to the bottom panel and then delete QuickLaunch. Kind of a kludge, but it worked like a charm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 KDE? ARRRRRRRGH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Well the majority of the executables for applications reside in the /usr/bin directory and most configuration files are found in /etc/. I personally do not run KDE4 on my machines so I am not for sure about quicklaunch and adding shortcuts to the panel. If need be I will install it to help you out though.This may also help you to understand the filesystem in Linux: http://techbu.com/2009/06/28/linux-file-sy...d-for-beginers/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipDoc Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Well the majority of the executables for applications reside in the /usr/bin directory and most configuration files are found in /etc/. I personally do not run KDE4 on my machines so I am not for sure about quicklaunch and adding shortcuts to the panel. If need be I will install it to help you out though.I'm gathering that Gnome is the usual GUI of choice here?Thanks for the offer, but I wasn't asking if the QuickLaunch trick would work, I was describing my experience. It works just fine!Yep, the executables were sitting right there in the /usr/bin - next step is to figure out how to manipulate them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Chip,I didn't have KDE installed, so I installed it. Anyway... this is another (maybe less than 100% kosher) way:RIGHT click the "K" on lower left corner, choose "Menu Editor".Into "Internet", create a "New Item":See the blue "planet icon"? Yours looks like a question mark, right? Click on it, and you can choose an icon for your entry.That done, you can "copy" the new menu entry to the panel by RIGHT clicking it and choosing "Add to Panel". And:Kool Urmas, reporting from KDE.City.. so BLUE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 I'm gathering that Gnome is the usual GUI of choice here?Um... not really... some use Gnome, some Xfce, some LXDE... Josh is using something techy. Yep, the executables were sitting right there in the /usr/bin - next step is to figure out how to manipulate them.Houston, we have a space cadet here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 I'm gathering that Gnome is the usual GUI of choice here?Thanks for the offer, but I wasn't asking if the QuickLaunch trick would work, I was describing my experience. It works just fine!Yep, the executables were sitting right there in the /usr/bin - next step is to figure out how to manipulate them.Not exactly. There are plenty of members who run KDE as well as Xfce and others. I personally run XMonad myself but it may be a bit daunting for some since it is a keyboard driven window manager. I used KDE for many years before the 4.x release but did not like direction the project was going so I switched to a different one. In my opinion, Gnome is much easier to navigate and customize than KDE but then again I have not played with KDE4 much. Some of the others may disagree with me on that though.BTW I am also installing KDE to help out. Actually, a stipped down version of KDE since I do not need all the K-centric applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 Nah... KDE and Gnome run about neck and neck at BATL, I think. Then there are the oddballs like me who go for Xfce, LXDE, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmjlinux586 Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Hello Chip Doc,Good to see you here.PCLinuxOS Gnome 2010 Rocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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